Kane County coroner-elect vows to rebuild trust in office

Post has been tinged with scandal under current officeholder

Rob Russell, 45, of South Elgin, was elected Kane County coroner Tuesday with about 60 percent of the vote. (Rob Russell, Handout)

Kane County Coroner-elect Rob Russell said his top priority for his first months in a scandal-plagued office will be to reach out to police and fire chiefs, funeral home directors and advocacy groups.

"I will first start to repair all the damaged relationships," said Russell, 45, a Republican from South Elgin who collected about 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial totals.

The race between Russell and Tao Martinez, a Democrat from North Aurora, already figured to garner interest because of the cloud of questions after the previous coroner, Chuck West, was accused of allowing staff to take a TV from a death scene in 2007. West died this year.

But the race became one of the most contentious in the county after the candidates traded accusations that the other was burnishing accomplishments to look more qualified for the office. Martinez said Russell, a sergeant with the DuPage County Sheriff's Department who has served as a corrections, court security and patrol officer, did not have the homicide investigation experience he touted.

Russell responded that Martinez, who owns a company that provides death scene cleanup services, was essentially a janitor and that the long list of medical examiner and coroner conferences Martinez attended didn't translate to real experience.

"I've got 20 years of law enforcement experience, and that's not something you can fake," Russell said. "I've never claimed to be supercop or robo cop, but I have done it for 20 years."

The race took another unexpected turn when Martinez, 32, endorsed Republican Chris Lauzen for County Board chairman over the Democrat, Sue Klinkhamer.

"I tried to put out the right message — that there is not a Republican way or Democrat way to run this office," Martinez said after the election. "It should be about taking care of families."

Martinez said he had no regrets about his campaign and that he would like to sit down for a talk with Russell sometime in the future.

Russell said he will leave his job with the Sheriff's Department before taking office in early December. His first task is to reach out to the various people who deal with the coroner's office, he said. He'll attend coroner's training in January and will also start the process to gain accreditation for the office from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

Gaining that accreditation was one of Russell's main campaign promises, and he said gaining accreditation held by only a small percentage of coroner's offices in the United States will help rebuild trust. He plans to have the office accredited by the end of his first term, he said.

"This will be a new experience, and I'm excited about it," he said. "I've never been the top dog before."